Berseria: Azure Experience
by Cypher0120
Summary: Sometimes, a person's existence just isn't meant to be. But if someone doesn't belong in a world, then they are that world's enemy regardless of intentions. Unless of course, they were invited in by someone else. For one with the title of 'Grim Reaper,' this may just be a chance for something new. - (A midway interruption of Berseria. The OC... isn't exactly an OC.)
1. Chapter 1 - Ragna

**Chapter 1: The Road to Ruin**

* * *

_One Brings Shadow, One Brings Light._

_Two-toned echoes tumbling through time._

* * *

He opened his eyes. His body ached all over but he felt as if he was atop something soft. A bed of some kind, which meant he was in a relatively safe place. There was also the gentle sway that rocked the whole area and outside he could hear the splashes of… water?

"Where the hell…?" he rose up, wincing ever so slightly as he observed his surroundings. The structure wasn't familiar, but he could tell he was in some kind of room with circular windows. And outside those windows… water. Seawater too from the look of things.

"Huh, that's rare." He said. He looked down at himself and sighed. Wrapped in bandages, his right arm left alone, his red coat and black shirt tossed off to the side. Now this brought back memories.

"Whoah, hey! You're awake!" a voice called out to him. He looked up towards the doorway and spotted a lively fellow with an oversized hat. Though the yellow bird atop said hat caught his attention more.

"How did I get here?" he asked, looking from the strange-looking man and then back to the portholes. "This is a ship ain't it?"

"Well yeah, what else could it be?" came the response. "To answer your first question though, that might be a little complicated. One of our scout ships actually fished you out of the ocean. We thought you were dead but when you were brought on board, we were surprised to find you breathing. There was no way we could just leave someone like that back in the water."

"I see, thanks I guess." He replied, calmly taking a deep breath as he took it all in. Fished from the ocean? What, had he been floating around since then? If that's the case, what was he doing before all of that?

"Hmmm… you're taking this surprisingly well." The other man replied, before he smiled and extended his arm out in greeting. "I'm Benwick, by the way. Our Captain will likely want to have a word with you before we let you go but for now, you should rest until they get back. Shouldn't be long." He nodded his head.

"Well, as long as you let me out of this room for some fresh air every so often." He shrugged, shaking the man's arm in response. "The name's Ragna. Also, one more question. You don't happen to have my sword do you?"

"Huh? Oh, that big hunk of metal? Yeah, it's here just outside the room. It's the reason why you were actually weighed down underneath the waters. Not gonna question how that works, but I've seen stranger." He shrugged, gesturing for him to follow.

It didn't take long before Ragna got himself prepared once more. He wore his red coat again and strapped to his side was the Aramasa blade. That was quite comforting to know that it wasn't lost. And while he waited for the ship's Captain and the crew to return from wherever it is they went to, he asked Benwick a few of his own questions. Nothing here was familiar, but as the other man said, he was taking it surprisingly well.

"Loegres eh?" Ragna said, leaning against the side of the Van Eltia. Their captain should be back from that city any moment now it seems. Even the names of the cities were as far removed as anything he was used to. He peered down below towards the docks where Benwick appeared to be negotiating with someone, frowning a little as voices began to raise. He really shouldn't pry but…

"Hmmm?"

A small group of people were approaching the ship; an odd assortment of many shapes and colors too by the looks of things. Could one of them be the captain?

He would have jumped down to stand beside Benwick… but then he felt something; An aura that radiated outwards from somewhere up north. He had never felt anything like it before and the feeling was highly unpleasant. It's as if something had just tried to invade his heart and mind before disappearing quickly.

"The hell was that?" Ragna muttered, glancing around the area. Everything had gone deathly silent. The busy chatter of the port had disappeared and people just stood around. All of them except for the group headed towards the ship. They seemed just as confused as he was. He was quick to make his way down to meet them, just as the dark-haired woman headed towards Benwick to snap him out of his reverie.

"You…" the blonde man of their number said, looking at him as he approached.

"Anyone care to explain what just happened?" asked Ragna. "Sorry for meeting up like this, but even I could tell that wasn't normal."

"You felt it too then?" wondered their colorfully-dressed Jester. "Aren't you that guy they fished out of the ocean?"

"I'd rather not be famous because of that but yeah, sure." He frowned. "That still doesn't answer what happened here."

"It's called a "domain." A malak's zone of influence. This one having come from the north it seems." Said the blonde.

"From the Empyrean's Throne?"

"Did that happen because of something Innominat and Artorius did?"

"…I don't know."

"I've got a bad feeling about this. We should get far away from here, and quickly."

Ragna continued to listen in, and as they talked… he could only mouth off a silent 'What?' He had no idea what they were talking about. A domain? A malak? Some Throne?

"As much as I'd like to let you go, I think I'm going to have to ask you to stay at the ship for a little while longer. I have a few questions to ask you. Especially since you don't seem affected by that domain. Name's Eizen by the way, and you are…?" the blonde man asked him.

"Ragna," he replied with a shrug. "I kinda figured that would happen though. Your friend Benwick said I'd be questioned when you people returned."

"Don't take this the wrong way," said Eizen, gesturing for Ragna to start heading back, "…we have to take a few precautions after everything that has happened so far. If you were any normal person, I might consider just letting you leave. But I suspect there's more to you given your survival in the depths of the sea."

"I can't even remember how I got there." He admitted, raising both arms. "Still, I owe your people for getting me out of there. I'd hate to imagine what would happen if I woke up in that state."

"Funny guy, eh? Well, we'll sort these out eventually. Let's get going."

* * *

The room prepared for him was the same one he had been staying at during his unconscious state. Nothing has changed, and he could still somewhat amuse himself better by looking outside the portholes to watch the waves as the ship, the Van Eltia, sped through the waters. A rare sight, even from where he came from…

A knock on the door.

"Hey, uh… they told me to come fetch ya. Seems they're done questioning someone so now it's your turn." The voice said.

Ragna didn't answer as he continued to look outside. It was an unfamiliar voice, certainly not Benwick's. They wanted to question him now did they? He sighed, shaking his head. He really shouldn't complain.

Ragna was at the door when the voice called out again, "You still alive in there? I'm not sure if…"

The door opened and Ragna came face to face with someone… or rather something quite unexpected. In terms of looks, it was a bipedal lizard with scales and claws. They sent this being to bring him up? "I don't think I've seen a lizard beastkin before…?" Ragna muttered to himself as he stared ahead.

"I uh… don't think you were supposed to meet me yet." The lizard replied, one clawed hand coming up to scratch the back of his head. "But I guess that's a good thing if you're not surprised by my appearance. Anyways, head on up. They're waiting for you up at the deck."

"I'll make my introduction there I guess." Ragna said, beginning to walk past the lizard before suddenly pausing. "Hey, you have a name?"

"It's Dyle. Thanks for not freaking out by the way. That should probably get you into the rest of the crew's good graces."

Ragna acknowledged him quickly with a simple wave of a hand as he headed up. Another person passed him by, the hooded man who had been travelling with the crew from earlier. For now, he paid him no attention as he stepped onto the deck of the ship. His turn to be questioned eh? That should be interesting.

"Well now, you're definitely a strange one." Eizen said, the man standing with the rest of the group having their collective gaze on Ragna.

"I assume Benwick told you enough about the basic stuff. So what am I in for?"

"Technically, you're not in for anything. But as mentioned earlier on, you do appear to be an oddity. From your survival in the depths of the ocean and even something as minor as your reaction to a daemon like Dyle." Eizen continued.

"A little harsh to be calling him a daemon don't you think?" Ragna shrugged.

"See, that's the problem." A woman said, a much harsher one in comparison to Eizen. Ragna looked towards that member of their group. An odd choice of tattered garments to be sure, but he had seen worse. Still, her gaze upon Ragna made him slightly hesitant in giving her a nickname. "Why do you find that normal? You don't look like you're from the Abbey, so are you a daemon yourself?"

"Velvet's certainly getting direct to the point." One of the other women said.

"I'm finding half your terms a little hard to follow, honestly," Ragna said. "But gimme a moment. I need to think a bit." He closed his eyes, arms crossed as he tried to think of his answer. He could just tell them that he had no idea at all, or he could just play along and at least make things interesting. Besides, they're getting nowhere if they just keep asking like this.

Ragna opened one eye, looking back at the group. "Maybe a proper introduction should be in order first?" He straightened his back, "My name is Ragna. Occasionally called the 'Grim Reaper' where I came from but almost certainly human. So, not a daemon, or whatever those are." He said.

The group looked at him for a moment before Eizen chuckled. "Heh, I like you. Alright, you guys heard him. Introductions then. You already know my name as well, but let's add a bit more. I'm Eizen, First Mate of this ship, the Van Eltia. I bring Ill fortune to those around me so I also share the title of Reaper. Let's hope your title doesn't mean the same thing." He looked at Ragna.

"Ooh! Ooh! Me next! I wanna introduce myself next!" the girl in the odd-looking hat and a skirt made of books raised her hand. Ragna had seen her too, but he hadn't really paid much attention to the others yet.

"Ahem…" she coughed, stepping forward as if to prepare herself. "I am…"

"Magilou. She's a witch who's occasionally useful." The dark-haired girl said, not even allowing Magilou to finish. "Let's get this done quickly. My name is Velvet, and I seek revenge against the Abbey."

"Hey!" Magilou cried out.

"Well, guess it's my turn. Pleased to meet you, Ragna. I'm Rokurou, a daemon on a mission." Another man spoke, clad in attire that looks like that of a traditional samurai. Ragna took note of the right side side of his face, dyed black with red markings around his eye… similar to his own whenever he's at a certain state…

"Eleanor Hume, ex… ummm….ex-Exorcist of the Abbey I guess." Another woman said. She certainly had a different aura from the others, Ragna observed. That also seemed to extend to the last member of the small group.

"I'm… Laphicet. But originally I had just a number, not a name." a boy spoke. He didn't know who this was, but something about his voice sounded familiar. Not from any of his old acquaintances for sure. "I'm a Malak. And Miss Eleanor is my vessel at the moment." He nodded.

There's that word again, Malak. Probably best to ask them about it later on when he's settled down long enough, assuming he gets to stay here at all. And there was that incident at the docks as well. On the run from something, and apparently some of them had issues with a group known as the Abbey.

"In any case, I suppose that's good enough for now. I think we can let you come with us for now. You don't seem like such a bad guy yourself, though maybe you have some reservations about being with a group of scoundrels like us?" Eizen asked him.

"Nope, no complaints there." Ragna answered, waving a hand. "Besides, you could say I'm not too different from the rest of you. Treat me the same as you would normally."

"Well, before that…" Rokurou smirked, stepping forward. "We need to know if you can hold your own in a fight. If you're just a regular guy, maybe that bravado of yours wouldn't be as useful." He explained, drawing two large daggers.

Ragna smirked, facing the man as his left hand reached for the handle of his sword. "You just want to see what I can do with this, don't you?"

"Maybe." The daemon replied, lowering his stance. "Curiosity's a good thing sometimes."

"Just be careful not to break the ship." Eizen called out with a frown.

"Got it!" the pair replied in unison as their sparring began.

Blades in hand, Rokurou launched himself at Ragna. What meets him is a heavy swing of Ragna's large weapon. It was like a raging wind colliding with a tree that endured the blow. The sword was swung, grazing against Rokurou's right dagger while his left struck at Ragna from the side.

"…!"

Rokurou stopped. Ragna did not permit his rush any more with a deft counter-attack, swinging his right fist at the attacking daemon's head. Rokurou rolled to the side, the momentum of his attack stopped. Distance is preferred, but Ragna closed the gap near instantly.

Normally, someone with a larger weapon only needs to attack when an enemy comes into their range. But even so, Ragna began to capitalize on Rokurou's surprise. But that wouldn't be enough.

One swing, and another swing. Rokurou either let the blade graze against his daggers, or he simply leaped out of the way. None of the swings were aimed down at the ship thankfully, but there was certainly a lot of power behind them that even Rokurou had doubts in taking a direct impact to block them.

Had they been normal humans, the ferocity of these attacks could make one wonder if this is still a non-serious fight. Ragna's sword struck for the throat, shoulders, the head, or the heart. If Rokurou faltered in any of his dodges, he could be seriously injured.

But he responded in kind with his own attacks whenever he could. A parry, and then a quick strike. A slice from the side. A cross-slash aimed at two different areas of the body.

All also avoided or blocked by Ragna. The large sword was his main offensive weapon, but he was also using just his right arm to block and parry. It was a style Rokurou was unused to facing.

The pair broke off the skirmish with a smile on their faces. And then they stood up straight, their weapons lowered as they chose to end it early.

"Impressive." Rokurou said.

"Thanks. You're not bad yourself."

"So you can hold your own, good. Welcome to the crew of the Van Eltia then, Ragna." Eizen approached the two, extending his right hand out to officially greet him. "It might be a bit odd at times, but someone of your caliber could likely get used to this."

"Likewise." Ragna answered, shaking Eizen's hand with his own. "Where are you headed off to right now anyway?" he wondered.

"Just a prison. Hopefully that doesn't spook you."

"Probably not, no." Ragna said, his eyes glancing over towards the other members of the group. What had he gotten himself into?

**Chapter End**

* * *

**Skit: Ragna's Training**

Rokurou: So then, Ragna. I can't help but be curious about your fighting style. Massive sword like that wielded in such a way. Where did you learn to fight like that?

Ragna: Eh? Well, it took a few years of training I guess. My master taught me a few tricks, not just in combat, but in survival as well.

Rokurou: Sounds like an interesting guy. I'd love to meet him sometime.

Ragna: He was fairly easy to get along with, even if he's a little strict sometimes. Just hope you don't mind training with a walking, talking cat.

Laphicet: A talking cat… like a Normin?

Ragna: What's a Normin?

Rokurou: Doesn't sound like that then. Maybe a Katz?

Ragna: No… like a cat. Who walks on his hind legs. And fights with a sword. That kind of cat.

Velvet: You're not making up these stories are you?

Ragna: Does it look like I'm the type to do something like that?

Magilou: I mean with a title like 'Grim Reaper…'

Ragna: We've a long way to go before I get used to all of you. *sighs*


	2. Chapter 2: Night of the Grim Reaper

**Chapter 2: Night of the Grim Reaper**

* * *

_Every Night and every Morn  
Some to Misery are born.  
Every Morn and every Night  
Some are born to Sweet Delight,  
Some are born to Endless Night._

* * *

"Mr. Ragna, did you really have a cat teaching you things?"

"You're not lying about it?"

"But what else did it teach you?"

"It could speak, right?"

He was being questioned by children. Laphicet from earlier, and another one who certainly looked less human. Green-skinned, plant-like hair, mismatched eyes…. Ragna could somewhat understand now why the others were surprised at his more basic reaction with Dyle. Any normal person would be freaked out at the sight, uncommon beastkin or not.

Still, not much surprised him anymore and given the curiousity and wonder of these kids, he may as well play along.

"Settle down now," he said, resting his back on a bench. It was night already, so he wasn't sure how much time he actually had to speak to them. The rest of the crew were looking at him with an amused expression though, but he didn't mind.

"What's your name by the way?" he asked the girl.

"Kamoana," she nodded.

"Cute name. But in any case, about the old cat, no I wasn't lying. He was really strong by the way and was onsidered a great hero before I was even born. Jubei of the Six Heroes" He replied.

"Jubei…" Laphicet told himself.

"I don't recall any mention of these Six Heroes in any history book." Eizen said, raising an eyebrow at Ragna's comment.

"It's not a story I expect many to know. I thought I mentioned I'm not from around here?" Ragna chuckled.

"Would you mind telling us about that story then Mr. Ragna?" asked Laphicet.

"I can give you a short version of it if you don't mind. Can't keep you two up past your bedtime."

"Ooh, storytime from the newcomer. This I have to hear." Rokurou said, turning his head towards them.

"Hmmm…" Ragna paused, wondering how to start this one off. He hadn't really done anything like this before, though he had heard a certain someone regale her version of the same events. He should be able to do something similar modified to what he knew about it. Besides, the kids were the ones asking about it. "It went something like…"

"Once upon a time, there was a Black Beast. It was too strong and with its many heads, it devoured everything in sight. And when the people tried to destroy it, they found they couldn't even scratch it and thus it threatened to consume the world.

But when the world was at a loss… a white knight appeared out of nowhere, followed by five champions. With their strength, they slayed the beast and brought hope to the world. But their stories were forgotten and faded into obscurity."

He was silent after that, eyes closed as he let them ponder the meaning of that story.

"Wait, that's it?" Kamoana wondered.

"It's a pretty depressing tale, all things considered." Laphicet murmured.

"The actual story would be much longer of course. But that's going to take more than a single night to properly get into its various details. Some even requiring multiple viewpoints to even understand properly."

"An odd story for sure, but interesting nonetheless." Eizen spoke up, Ragna turning his attention towards him. "Just out of curiousity, how many heads did this beast have?"

"I don't think they've really mentioned the specifics. But I think people usually drew it with eight heads?" Ragna shrugged.

"Eight-headed is the Lord of the Land / With seven mouths to devour malevolence. / Through pulses of earth doth base natures flow / As He awaits the time of awakening. / Four Empyreans may tear Him asunder / But so long as there is one receptive to divine power / Therions shall be forever reborn / In sight of the full crimson moon. / The Nameless Empyrean hath one heart. / The Nameless Empyrean hath one body." Laphicet recited.

"Innominat then?" Eizen frowned.

Ragna sensed the chill in everyone's faces almost immediately. What, did his story bring up a weird idea?

"I wouldn't look too deep into that. Besides, I probably messed up how it actually went." He said.

"It's more complicated than that. And we should really get you up to speed on what we're doing. I suspect you also may play a larger role than what we thought." Eizen responded.

"Not sure I like the sound of that, but I guess that's fine with me." Ragna sighed. "Before that though, where's Miss Frowny-face? It's pretty late right now."

"Velvet… likes to keep to herself." Laphicet said, his expression a little dejected. "Maybe we should call her back down here?" he wondered.

"What, she's up on the deck? I could do that if you need me to a bit more useful." Ragna said, getting up from his position.

"Very generous of you," said Eizen, "Take your time though. We're not arriving at our destination yet."

Ragna waved a hand as he turned away, walking back up the stairs towards the deck. Maybe he shouldn't have mentioned that story to them? At first it was just something to entertain the kids, but he didn't expect the mood to become more serious after that.

"Innominat, they called it." Ragna murmured. It was almost certainly not the same thing as the Black Beast but his descriptions may have implied some sort of similarity to it. A mistake to be rectified later on, but not now given the truth of the matter.

He sighed as he looked out over the horizon. The sun had long since set, but there was still enough light to find the boundaries between sky and sea. Few sights really moved him such as this, especially considering the usual method of travel done in the past. A ship like this would not have lasted long in a seithr-filled world.

"Reminiscing about something?" a voice asked him from the side.

He turned slightly. It was that girl, Velvet.

"I don't normally see these sights where I'm from." He replied, leaning against the side of the ship. "I was actually tasked with coming up to find you, y'know? Guess everyone wants to have a little talk."

"They're just cautious. They may have warmed up to you, but we still don't know anything about your purpose or why you are so willing to help us despite knowing so little."

"Yeah, it feels that way. Got nothing to hide though. You could say I'm doing this as a bit of… escapism, I guess? There's nothing else left for me to do so I'm passing my time."

"Escaping from some responsibility then? I didn't know that." Velvet said. "The business we have deals with revenge. As long as you have the stomach for that kind of work, I could care less about your true intentions." She said, walking past him.

"Yikes. Didn't think I'd hear something like that," Ragna said as he shook his head. "Careful with that though. That much hate could eventually be used against you if you're not careful."

"What would you know about the kind of pain it brings…?" Velvet trailed off, glaring at him just briefly before she vanished down the flight of stairs.

He sighed, arms crossed as he pondered the thought. He knew alright, he knew it all too well. Something about that conversation really bothered him, though. He once had the same look in his eyes, and it wasn't going to end well. Did the others know about this?

"I really don't want that to be my problem." He muttered to himself, taking another look at the ocean for a bit longer. The moon was full as well, though it was partially obscured by the increasingly darkening clouds above.

"You're really leaning towards that dark and mysterious type, aren't you?"

Ragna looked down to his right. He had seen that creature in passing, usually with one of the others. Purple and white fur, a tiny stature almost like that of a cat but on two legs, an oversized head with a hat on top. At a glance, he could kinda see why the others would think his description of Jubei resembled one of these things.

"Got to keep up my reputation and all," Ragna chuckled, leaning back against the side of the ship. "What are you doing up here?"

"Just getting some fresh air, Mister Ragna. I don't think we've been properly introduced yet have we? I'm always doing so much work for Miss Magilou." He sighed.

"Magilou? That witch?" Ragna wondered.

"Uh-huh," he nodded his head. "I'm her Normin Contractee, Bienfu. Pleased to meet ya!" he extended his arm.

Normin, Daemon, Therion, Malak…. There were still a few terms he needed to get accustomed to. Easy enough he supposed. Ragna shrugged and reached down, shaking the Normin's paw and then resumed his usual position.

"Seems like I've gotten myself involved with a colorful bunch of people. Not that I'm complaining. It beats doing most things alone." He said with a chuckle.

"You're not regretting anything are you? What about where you're from? Friends and family?" Bienfu asked, climbing up onto the side of the ship.

"My family is fine. My brother and sister are finally living their lives without me having to watch over them. Though I guess I do have one regret. There was someone I left behind…" he trailed off. Even just thinking of her made him feel odd. The scent of roses… and tea. Never thought he'd actually come to miss those sensations.

"A lost love? That is so sad…" Bienfu said, "I feel for you, Mister Ragna. The heart is a tough thing to deal with."

"What makes you think it's… you know what? Nevermind." Ragna answered, slightly irritated. He was sure Bienfu meant well, but he didn't need to be reminded of those things anymore. "Anyways, let's head back down. I don't want them to think we're plotting something nefarious."

"You don't seem to be the nefarious type, Mister Ragna." Bienfu said, jumping down to the floor.

"Just Ragna is fine. And who knows? I am called the Grim Reaper after all." He shrugged, following the Normin down where the rest of the crew was. He had half a mind to ask what Bienfu was doing up here, but decided against it. Their business is their own.

**Chapter End**

* * *

**Skit: Trying to Learn**

Magilou: Well, well. It seems you do have an affinity with Normin. Maybe you are more like a witch like myself.

Ragna: Is it related to them looking like cats?

Magilou: In a way. But are you any good at magic?

Ragna: You mean like, regular magic or sorcery? Because I can do the basics, though I think I might be interested in learning a few advanced ones.

Magilou: Ooh! I can do that! What kind are you looking to learn? Curses that would make your enemies wish they'd never cross you? Spells of destruction that wipe everything in sight? Or perhaps the more practical ones like charms that can cause great infatuation?

Ragna: ….Yeah, I'm thinking more along the lines of wind and lightning, none of the weird stuff.

Magilou: Oddly specific there. Any particular reason?

Bienfu: Oh, that's because it probably makes him think of –Eeep!

Ragna: *picking Bienfu up by the head* Hey, that's enough of that.

Bienfu: Sorry! Sorry!

Magilou: Heh, well in that case I could consider the steps. Unfortunately, I don't specialize in those elements. If it's wind, you could ask Eizen. He is suited for that and Earth. Lightning itself is difficult to categorize, but I've seen the kid use a few of those artes.

Ragna: Kid, you mean Laphicet?

Magilou: *nods* Though I am curious. If you intend to learn those elements, what do you currently specialize in?

Ragna: Oh, well that's easy. Darkness.

Magilou: Related to being called Grim Reaper then? Interesting…

Ragna: Hey, I said it's just the basics didn't I? Anyways, I'll head off to rest. I'll be able to show off what I'm capable of soon, I hope.

Magilou: *watching him leave* For one who claims specialty in the dark, he's surprisingly cheerful. Let's see what he has in store for us.

Bienfu: *shivers*

* * *

(This story shall officially move to the Crossover section by the end of the 3rd chapter.)


	3. Chapter 3 - Prison of Secrets

**Chapter 3: Prison of Secrets**

* * *

_The sword sung on the barren heath,_

_The sickle in the fruitful field;_

_The sword he sung a song of death,_

_But could not make the sickle yield._

* * *

The Island Fortress loomed overhead as they docked at the port. The structure itself appeared to consist mostly of stone, built directly into the side of a steep cliff. It was an imposing place, and even the murky weather made it seem less accommodating… not that it ever really was in the first place.

Ragna whistled as he stared up at the ominous crags. No one sane would willingly come here, though given his companions, he wasn't too surprised. Laphicet stood beside him, equally at awe of this place.

"The whole island's a prison… it's like a secret fort or something!" the kid exclaimed.

"Weirdly quiet, though."

"Yeah, I don't see a single exorcist on the watch."

"Let's scope out the inside," said Velvet, leading the way forward.

"Maybe it became haunted?" Magilou continued, hands behind her head as she walked forward.

Ragna was about to follow as well, though his steps faltered at the witch's comment. "Eh? Haunted...?" He had experienced a great many things, but dealing with the intangible and the ethereal was something he always found unusual. It was a feeling that manifested in his typical refusal to join anything related to things that might contain ghosts and the like. And yet he can't just turn away now if everyone's heading in. "Damn it…" he shivered, his face a bit more pale as they entered the threshold.

Within, they caught sight of someone falling over. An Exorcist apparently, who began to mutter, "Headless…kni…knight…tss… back…" and became still.

"She's dead." Eleanor shook her head.

And then a roar as something large leaped from an overlooking platform. It was ape-like, larger than any normal man, and more ferocious as it roared again, as if to challenge the group.

"Think this is the daemon that attacked her?" asked Rokurou.

"Hmmm, another prison riot?" wondered Magilou.

A grin appeared on Ragna's face. Alright, so this wasn't a ghost then. He can handle something like this if there were more around.

It lunged at Eleanor first, who sidestepped the blow leaving Ragna free to deliver it a powerful kick that sent it flying towards the opposing wall. It was stunned long enough that the Exorcist ran forward and impaled it with the tip of her spear, ending the threat right there.

It was quiet again, though Ragna suspected something amiss. He was sure the others could feel it too and given the simplicity of dealing with that monster, that feeling was likely correct.

"So did the Abbey actually fail to quell the riots?" Velvet wondered, tilting her head to the side as if to think about the situation.

"I find that hard to believe," said Rokurou, "The prison was heavily staffed with Exorcists."

"Perhaps it was venomization," said Eizen.

"Eh?" Ragna turned his head.

"A dark ritual forcing daemons to eat each other in order to produce ever-stronger daemons," Eizen continued to explain.

"And no one thought that was a bad idea?" asked Ragna.

"They likely created a daemon far too powerful for the exorcists to control." Rokurou looked at him.

"I imagine the riot didn't help," Eleanor looked down.

"Now whose fault could that have been, I wonder?" said Magilou.

Velvet shook her head. "Whatever happened doesn't matter to us now. We need to focus on how to take this place for ourselves."

"That exorcist from before said something about a "headless knight," right?" Laphicet wondered.

"Spooky…" Ragna said, resting his back against a wall. "I assume we're going to be hunting it down, right?"

"What, you're going to be joining us?" Velvet asked.

"I mean, wouldn't it be a good idea to keep an eye on me? You can't seriously think of just letting me do anything I please, do you?"

"Isn't that what you're doing now?" she frowned.

"Fair point. Still, It's been a while since I properly stretched my limbs. If all you really need to do is to hunt down a few of these monsters, then I'm sure I can help out in that regard."

"Heh, I like that way of thinking." Rokurou chuckled.

"Fine," Velvet replied, "As long as you're pulling your weight. For now, until we capture the island, let's use this room for our staging ground. I'll leave the prince and Kamoana to Kurogane and Dyle. Eliminate any enemies who come in."

"Prince?" Ragna stared at the other group. Eleanor had walked over to them as well, comforting the little girl before she rejoined them.

It didn't take long before they made their exit from the room and headed deeper into the prison. There were other monsters now though. Winged daemons that swooped down with pointed spears, spellcasters that constantly stayed back, but this was just the opening part and Velvet seemed to lead the way in a methodical manner.

Ragna played his part as best he could. Despite his heavy blade, he swung it at the daemons with little problem. His only setback usually came when the hall was too narrow to fight in, in which case he was forced to use brute strength with his fists or legs.

"Damn you're strong." Rokurou said as he watched Ragna send a daemon flying, dissipating as it crashed against the opposing wall. "You know when all this is over, how would you like to have a duel? Just the two of us, no holding back?"

"What, to the death? No thanks. I've had too many people going after my head in the past. We can continue that spar of ours, sure. But I don't intend on going all out, ever." Ragna replied.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? We will be facing the Abbey in the future, and we can't afford to have you pull your punches when it matters." Eizen said.

"I meant not going all out on friends. Just because I like to avoid conflict doesn't mean I don't enjoy a good fight every now and then." Ragna answered.

"Oh? So we're all friends now?" Magilou spoke up with a grin.

"Eh." Ragna gave a shrug as they continued walking on. He didn't dislike them so that should be a point in their favor at least. Some more than others though.

Further down, something odd caught their attention.

"Hey, it's you again." Velvet looked at it.

Actually what was it? It was small, human-like, and seemed to carry… or wear a shell attached to its back. And when it spoke, it sounded much older than what Ragna expected it to be.

"Ah, I'm so busy! I'm so busy I can'tz even notice what'z going on around me!" it said, feigning ignorance to the group.

"You're not fooling anybody. Why bother?" Velvet said, glaring at it.

And so it turned around, dejected. "I was… hoping to not have to dealz with youz guyz. Whenever I run into youz, I always lose so much moniez."

Odd way of speaking too, Ragna observed.

"Hey uh, that's a human, right?" he looked at Eizen. Velvet seemed fine enough to deal with it herself along with Eleanor. And Ragna would rather not get involved too closely there.

"That's a question for the ages. No one really knows the answer to that. Be they human or malakhim, there is no answer that can be found about the origins of the Turtlez." Eizen nodded.

"Turtlez, eh? Might be a type of beastkin like the Kaka clan." Ragna answered.

"What's the Kaka clan?" Laphicet said as he approached.

"Oh? Just a race of cat beastkin. Really friendly if you get to know them." Ragna answered.

Whatever business Velvet had with the turtlez was finished fairly quickly and the group continued on their way, deeper into the prison, beginning to head lower and lower with each new stairwell that revealed itself.

"What was behind the riot?" Eleanor wondered, midway through the walk. "Who was behind the riot?"

"Wouldn't you have known something about it?" Rokurou asked her.

"There were reports of a large riot, but I heard little else when I was chasing you."

"It was a small affair, really." Magilou replied, "Velvet, Rokurou, and I were being held on this island. Velvet instigated the other prisoners to riot so that we could escape."

"Heh, nice." Ragna chuckled.

"She used the prisoners?!" exclaimed Eleanor.

"Would you expect different from me?" Said Velvet, her voice calm causing Eleanor to simply grit her teeth at the thought.

"How did it end?" asked Laphicet.

"We didn't stay to see, but the prisoners were losing badly." Rokurou answered, propping his chin up with a few fingers as he pondered his next set of thoughts. "At least that's what it looked like… but if that was the case, then where did all the exorcists go?"

Eleanor sighed. "I know Oscar left to report the incident, but the other guards should have remained at their posts."

"Well, if they didn't flee, we have to assume they were all killed." Said Eizen.

"By this headless knight perhaps?" said Magilou. "Well, no sense losing our heads, I suppose… But it looks like we're in for a heck of a fight."

"Hey, if you can strike it with a sword, it means it can be hurt. Nothing's invincible." Ragna said. "At least it doesn't sound like a ghost."

"Oh? And what if it's some kind of spectre?" Magilou looked at him.

"Ha! Don't even joke about that." Ragna replied, shivering lightly.

Further down they went, each new daemon appearing falling to the party. No headless knight though, but Velvet mentioned they were getting close to the deepest area of the prison.

Daemons appeared before them again and again, but there was only one way forward and that was right through them. Easy enough now with no more surprises, the daemons didn't exactly have many options and their strategy was fairly basic all things considered. Which meant Ragna wasn't threatened at all when the headless knight appeared before them near the end of a prison room.

"He doesn't look that tough." He said, sword drawn.

"Remember, he's still the product of the Venomization. So stay on your guard." Velvet said, the group getting into a battle stance.

"He certainly looks vicious enough," said Rokurou, though Ragna could detect just the slightest hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Not as vicious as our Velvet though," Magilou grinned.

The knight commenced battle with them now, his massive axe carving a path through empty air as he tried to bring as many people as possible into its arc. The first swing was easily avoided as Rokurou retaliated with a few quick slices to the side. The knight was in full armor though, though what remained of a body didn't seem to be visible at all.

The fact creeped Ragna out, but he held his own against the second strike, completely negating the axe blow with the raise of his sword. Velvet struck at the daemon then, severing its arm. Magilou and Laphicet blasting it apart soon afterwards with a combination of intense spellcasting.

A pile of rent armor lay where it stood though for a moment, it moved as if to rise again. Ragna stepped back, before the pieces simply exploded outward, scattering the remains.

"That takes care of that." Rokurou said, sheathing his blades.

"Yeah…" Velvet whispered, her gaze down on a small chamber underneath this room. It was blocked off by a grate, though a ladder seemed to head down.

"Ah! I feel something again!" Laphicet called out.

"The Earthpulse Point?" Eizen said, his gaze lowered. "I sense it, too. It's very close."

"Directly underneath us, I would guess." Said Velvet, lifting the grate as the group made their way down.

It was a gloomy place, Ragna observed. It wasn't particularly small; though the chains and stone walls scattered about definitely made it feel more like a dungeon compared to the cells and bars in the prison above.

"What is this place?" Eleanor wondered.

Velvet frowned, "Welcome to the most secure cell in the entire complex. The darkest hole in Titania. Feel anything, Laphicet?" she turned towards the boy.

He nodded his head, his compass out to doubly make sure. "Yeah, I think this is the earthpulse point."

"If this cell is where the earthpulse point is, then does that mean it housed a therion?" Eleanor wondered.

"Yeah, and a real hungry one at that." Said Velvet, her voice seemingly darkening.

Ragna leaned his back against the wall, his eyes on Eleanor and then towards Velvet. How much did she know about this place?

Velvet continued, her voice colder and colder, yet there was also pain within it as she looked up at the entrance.

"Every day, they would toss daemons into its cell. It would devour its fill, then wipe the blood from its lips. Never once realizing it was delivering to Innominat the malevolence of hundreds of daemons and prisoners." She paused, taking a deep breath before her gaze fell downwards. "And then one day there appeared before it a female malak, who shattered the barrier and freed the therion from its cage. But the therion knew no mercy, and it devoured its liberator. And it was then…"

A long pause. Everyone was silent until Velvet spoke again. The bandages on her left arm disappeared, transforming the whole thing and revealing the familiar black and crimson claw that served to replace it.

"It was then I obtained the power. The power to avenge my brother."

"Velvet… You're a therion?" Laphicet asked, a little surprised in his sad tone.

"This prison island was a feeding ground for the therion, harnessing the malevolence created by the prisoners within." Eizen said, rationalizing what happened.

"But because Velvet escaped, the malevolence went out of control." Said Rokurou.

"Wow, the same darn thing that happened back in Kamoana's village." Nodded Magilou.

Eleanor shook her head, "Lord Artorius would never have done such a thing…"

"No? What's so unbelievable?" asked Velvet, her voice now agitated. "That he used his wife's brother as a human sacrifice? That he imprisoned his wife's sister? Because that's what your DAMNED HOLY SHEPERD DID! All to get his hands on Innominat's power!"

"I'm sure he… he had a reason for—" Eleanor's voice was swiftly interrupted as Velvet lunged forward, her right hand gripping Eleanor's shirt.

"A reason?! To spare the world of its pain? Don't give me that! Who will spare my brother's pain?! Who will soothe my brother's despair?! He murdered my little brother Laphi! And you'll stand there and tell me it was for the 'greater good'?!" Velvet cried out angrily.

Ragna was silent throughout all this. He honestly didn't know this went much deeper than he realized. His gaze travelled down to his right arm and looked at the back of his hand. What Velvet experienced, it wasn't right. And yet…

He moved, his right hand on Velvet's own as if to stop her from threatening Eleanor. It changed nothing of course, but it was enough to make Velvet back off and pull her hand away.

"At any rate, that's one less Therion for us to track down." Velvet said with a wave of her hand as she calmed herself down.

Neither of the two women said anything, conflicting emotions through both for what felt like hours until the silence was broken by Eleanor mentioning Kamoana.

"What? Did Velvet yell at you so hard you're starting to hear voices now?" Magilou asked her.

"I just have a feeling that something's wrong. She could be in danger."

"The headless knight was defeated already though…" Laphicet said.

"I still can't shake this feeling! Please, let's go back and check on them!" Eleanor pleaded.

The decision was unanimous. Best to return to the rest of the crew instead of lingering about in this gloomy place. Ragna said nothing as they headed back, though another small conversation caught his attention.

Magilou initiated the discussion, however and said, "So, Velvet is a therion, is she? I knew there was something off about her."

"But it's what she cried out that's really on my mind." Eleanor murmured as she turned towards Laphicet. "Is Velvet truly Lord Artorius' younger sister?"

"She never told me." The boy replied.

"If it were true, I suppose it would explain her knowledge of Lord Artorius' training."

"If you're so curious, why not ask her yourself?" Rokurou said, turning his gaze towards Velvet. "Hey, Velvet. What's your connection to Artorius?" he called out.

Eleanor's features dropped. "Rokurou, have some tact!"

Velvet glanced back, her expression more annoyed than anything. "I heard you whispering. It doesn't bother me." She said as she gave her answer, "Artorius was married to my late sister Celica. He was our brother-in-law. We lived together for more than ten years."

"Celica…" Ragna murmured. The name was just a coincidence but still…

Magilou looked at him briefly and then back towards Velvet. "That does explain a few things."

Eizen shook his head, "So he sacrificed his little brother and turned his sister into a therion."

"But… you were his family." Eleanor said, her gaze downtrodden.

Velvet frowned again. "To his view of the grand scheme, family is inconsequential. 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.' All he did was act according to his ideal logic. In any case, that's enough chitchat. Let's get moving."

The trip back was even gloomier than usual, at least in Ragna's view. It was mostly Laphicet and Eleanor he observed that was most affected by this and he walked beside them almost instinctively. Neither of them objected as far as he could tell.

Moments later, they neared the entrance only to hear a cry of help.

"That was Kamoana!" Eleanor declared, running forward ahead of them.

All jumped over the railing to rejoin the smaller group, and met a sight they did not expect. Another of those daemons had appeared, more ferocious than the others one. And coincidentally, it was also another headless knight… but on top of a headless horse.

"It's giving off a ton of malevolence." Said Eizen.

"The true survivor of the venomization process." Rokurou nodded.

"Oh… I get it!" Magilou chirped up. "The dying exorcist lady wasn't saying "Headless knight is back," she was going for "Headless knight on horseback!"

"Whatever the case, we'll fight whoever we have to claim this island!" Velvet declared as the group prepared themselves for a fight.

"No."

They turned towards Ragna as he stepped forward, his sword held out to his left side as if to bar the rest from passing him by. "This one's on me."

"This isn't the time for showing off!" Velvet said.

"Sorry, but I need to get this out of my system." Ragna answered, standing a fair distance in front of the group now. They could have stopped him, probably, though Eizen and Rokurou seemed to acknowledge that this was important and held the others back momentarily. He took a deep breath, and then stared at the daemon directly where its head could have been.

Despite being headless, the horse made a neighing sound and then charged. Its rider levelled its spear and aimed it straight for Ragna. He wasn't too concerned of course, but his next action will make or break his place in all of this.

Eight steps before the daemon reached him and everything seemed to move so slow. Not so much the same as a life flashing before his eyes, but simply the sheer gravity of what he was about to do. He raised his right arm, fully revealing what appeared to be a crimson object embedded within the back of his hand. It glowed, and Ragna began a familiar chant.

"Restriction 666 released."

Five steps. What was he doing? He was wasting this kind of power on this daemon he barely even knows about. He didn't even have a guarantee that this wouldn't be detrimental to his own mind and body.

"Dimensional Interference Field Deployed."

Two steps. The spear was just a few feet away. An azure circle like that of a spellcaster's bounded field appeared around him. Darkness gathered atop of him, a storm that partially shrouded him but also giving off an intense aura that made those who looked upon him wither their gaze.

"Azure Grimoire, activate!"

An explosion of dark energy surrounded him and blew outwards, sending the daemon back to the far corner of the room with an impact that cracked the wall. It wasn't down yet, however, and it was back on its feet to try the process again and charged with the same ferocity.

Ragna was different now. His right arm had transformed, shrouded or even completely encased in what looked like a pitch-black claw with crimson markings.

The sight was enough for Velvet to widen her eyes, right hand moving to clutch her left arm. It wasn't the same and yet, there was a similarity that couldn't be denied.

"Is he… a Therion too?" Laphicet looked on.

"Stay back!" Eizen pulled the boy back. "This is beyond any amount of malevolence I've seen."

Incentive for Ragna to finish this quickly then. He brought the Armasa's blade out with his left arm, and before the Daemon could react, the blade was swung. Only, it wasn't a sword this time. Somehow, the weapon transformed, part of its structure changing to reveal another blade made of crimson energy. It extended outwards, the entire weapon looking more like a scythe. A scythe that split the horse daemon apart with a single swing.

Its headless rider tumbled down, and then got up to thrust its spear at Ragna. He avoided it by ducking under and was now directly in front of the daemon. The claws of his right arm extended and then he simply grabbed the whole daemon.

"Let Darkness consume you!" Ragna declared, a pitch-black wave engulfing the daemon. The darkness all around them were forming structures now as well, spikes that gouged, stabbed and made short work of the daemon. It must have taken less than a second before the whole thing vanished, traces of its existence moving… into Ragna himself.

With the enemy gone, he turned around. The right side of his face had changed for a moment as well, black and crimson markings all over around his eye, down his face, and extended down to the rest of his arm.

Ragna paused for a moment, before he deactivated the Azure Grimoire. The markings on him disappeared as did the claw.

"The malevolence just disappeared?" Eizen wondered.

"What are you?" Velvet asked, hesitating as she approached.

"That's an open question," Ragna said looking down towards his right hand. He opened and closed his fingers, making sure everything still worked fine. He looked up towards Velvet and sighed.

"I don't know what you've been through. I can't claim that what I've experienced was worse than yours. But I can tell you one thing at least. Losing your family, losing your arm, becoming the world's enemy? It sucks, I know. Maybe I just felt some connection or something? But I've decided to stick with you guys for real this time. Simple as that." He said.

"Intended to leave before? Sorry pal, but after all that, we need to keep an eye on you more than ever." Eizen said with a smile.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Ragna chuckled, "Guess I just need to- argh…!" he gave out a yell of alarm. He was down on one knee, eyes closed as his head rang.

"What's happening to him?" Eleanor cried out.

Memories. Far too many of them came rushing into his mind. Not his own, but of the daemon he had devoured. Memories of the one who was imprisoned here. Memories of those he had been forced to devour… so many prisoners each with their own story to tell. Venomization… what a pain in the ass!

"I'm good… I'm good…" Ragna said, his breathing heavy. "Too many memories, thought I was going to black out for a moment. I didn't think consuming that would be this detrimental."

"You sure you'll be fine?" asked Eizen.

"Yeah? Probably…" Ragna said. He looked forward, and then paused. Velvet was in front of him, holding her left hand out as if to help him up. Something he graciously accepted as he took her hand with his right.

* * *

**Interlude: The Empyrean's Throne**

Her eyes opened. Though she was unable to move for now, she was perfectly aware that this was intentional. Two people were in front of her, their backs turned until one of them looked back.

"So, you are alive."

A statement, not a question. Who was he?

"This much malevolence still radiating from her, how curious."

The older one was more curious, but she didn't care. There was a presence here, a presence she can't quite see or had yet to reveal itself. And it was… draining her?

"Alive is such a strong word. I am more privy to… Death." She spoke, and then closed her eyes. "Ah, dear brother. So it was your presence I sensed…" she smiled. For now, she can wait here. Her presence in this world, this was an interesting twist of fate indeed.

She was silent, and then she began to laugh. A laugh that echoed about the Empyrean's Throne Room.

* * *

**Author's Note**:

Expect the story to move to the crossover section. I'll let it stay here for a week, and then off it goes.


	4. Chapter 4 - Reality's Red

**Chapter 4: Reality's Red**

* * *

_I was angry with my friend:_

_I told my wrath, my wrath did end._

_I was angry with my foe:_

_I told it not, my wrath did grow._

* * *

"Shouldn't you be resting or sleeping after all that happened?" Velvet asked him. She found him out on the docks, lost in thought as he looked out from the pier, his legs dangling down the edge. He had excused himself when the others had gone off to rest, though he didn't expect to be confronted.

Magilou had visited him briefly, expressing curiosity and despite Eizen claiming that he'd be keeping a closer eye on Ragna, the pirate was content in letting him roam about. He just had to be careful with that 'special power' of his, as Eizen called it, and to not use it in the presence of Laphicet.

"I have plenty of time for that." Ragna said as he stood up and turned towards Velvet. "What's up?"

She shook her head, arms crossed as she replied, "Nothing much. I just wanted to talk."

"Uh-huh, anything in particular you wanted to talk about?"

"Shouldn't it be obvious?"

"Yeah I learned to expect that nothing's ever obvious." He chuckled. "You finish speaking with everyone yet?"

She nodded. "It took some time to find Eleanor, but I think everyone's prepared to rest. You're the last one I found."

"Not going to tell me to go to sleep are you?"

"Of course not. But you're feeling alright I hope? You did seem on the verge of collapsing a while ago."

"I appreciate the concern but trust me, I'm fine. It's not the first time it's happened."

Velvet narrowed her eyes and moved to speak, though it seemed the words got caught in her throat. Ragna didn't press any further but as she spoke again, he sighed. It was expected really, of course she'll be curious.

"How did your arm came to be like that?"

It was only fair to answer. She had revealed enough of how her own arm became like that and so far, no one around knew about his origins. He would have answered differently earlier on too. Memories of the daemon he devoured were fragmented, but there was a lot of it. A combination of memories from those who became one with the Venomization process. But it gave him enough information about this world, and why it was unfamiliar to him.

"Nothing so dramatic really. Someone took away my brother and sister when I was young, killed our caretaker, then cut off my arm and left me for dead. I heard my hair turned white from the shock, but somehow I survived." He started to explain as he walked back to the entrance, Velvet following closely behind.

He continued on, "And someone showed up, leading me to a place with a warning. I think she may have bitten me, but it's been so long I can't even remember."

"Bit you?" Velvet wondered.

"She was a vampire. Anyways, moving on…" he shrugged, passing by the information as if it was nothing important. "I was lead somewhere, warned that if I were to accept a power offered, there's no going back. But what choice did I have? It was pathetic, and I was depressed about how powerless I was. Also scared after having everything taken from me right before my eyes. I ran towards that power, so I never have to feel that way ever again."

He turned around at the door, raising his right hand. "That's how I obtained the Azure Grimoire. It replaced my right arm and my right eye. But I know for a fact that it is a power normally detrimental to me every time I use it. I thought I would use it to take revenge on those who have wronged me, but even accomplishing those goals felt hollow." He looked at Velvet. "So your revenge story, in a way, resonates with mine. I don't know the ending to your tale, but I kinda want to see what happens. If I can help out, then so be it."

Velvet was silent for a while, and then sighed. "So you aren't a Therion as I know it then. And what was it you called it, The Azure Grimoire?"

"Azure, Blazblue, sometimes it's been called a few different things. Thankfully, I doubt anyone here cares about it."

"How do you know that?" asked Velvet.

"Because… uhh…" Ragna looked around, almost cautious. "…Would you believe me if I said I'm not from this world?"

"No."

"Yeah that's what I thought. But after looking through the memories of that daemon, I don't see any other possibility. The important events that have happened in its memories? I don't know any of them. And nothing's familiar here. For one thing, we're at sea level and not dying or changing into monsters. The world where I come from is saturated with well, that kind of poison." Ragna answered.

"Or you're remembering things differently." Velvet shook her head. The look on her face was calm, though he had a feeling she was doing more in studying how he acted.

"Sooo…."

"You have a tendency of rambling on, you know?" Velvet said.

"Only sometimes." He shrugged, pushing back against the entryway and let it open. Within the building, Ragna began walking backwards towards the stairs as Velvet moved towards one of the lower rooms.

"Hey," she called out quietly, "…Thanks for sharing. I do appreciate the help."

He nodded in response, looking on as she disappeared from view. Best to get some rest himself, though maybe he should get to rest now. Hard to get some sleep though, even if he should be used to this feeling.

"Well, one more thing." He mumbled to himself, making a short trek to the back of this area of the prison. This was to be the base of their group, which meant everyone had begun to unload a lot of things from the ship. Though many had paused to sleep, he knew there was one particular one to visit.

One of the crew's daemons, Kurogane, had asked to see his sword earlier. Something that Ragna handed over with barely a second glance. He didn't know why he did so, but he didn't sense any malicious intent. Originally, he would have come back for the sword in the morning, but he was curious to see what the daemon had to say about it.

When he arrived, Rokurou was there.

"I won't be able to replicate something like this. The construction is beyond anything I've ever seen." Kurogane said as the headless daemon swordsmith handed it back towards Ragna. "To think that it is made of so many different parts, it's mind boggling."

"Guess you won't be able to make me something like that for me in the near future?" Rokurou asked.

"I'd need a lifetime to even consider attempting it. Sorry." Said Kurogane. "Still, when has convention ever stopped a daemon?"

"Hey, no sweat. Think you know how to make your own sword?" Rokurou looked at Ragna.

"Probably not. It's actually gifted to me so I don't really know its origins." He replied, strapping it back to his side. "In any case, you guys doing anything else?"

"Not really. We're just waiting until tomorrow when we return to the Earthpulse point and figure out where to go next." Rokurou answered. "Speaking of which, we haven't really primed you for what we're actually doing are we?"

"Doesn't matter." Ragna shrugged. "Something about revenge. Take down a Shepherd. Save the world and all that."

"You make it sound like you've done something like this before." Kurogane stated. "How many more secrets do you still have?"

"Enough that I think I'm running out of them." Ragna answered with a chuckle.

"Hey, I'm sure that'll be fun to figure out. Your strength's gonna be useful for the days ahead." Rokurou said and walked up to pat Ragna on the back.

Ragna shrugged. "Well we'll see about that."

* * *

**Midgand: The Empyrean's Throne**

"You are a curious one indeed." She said, eyes closed as the old man cast the spell. "So, this is meant to restrain my abilities? What an interesting tool that you have here."

"Make no mistake, we cannot allow someone like you to roam free. Though you claim not to show any hostility, we cannot take any chances." He replied, the magical circle closing about her form before eventually dissipating into the aether.

The girl said nothing as her crimson eyes gazed upon the area surrounding them. A pure, white room with a throne at the back. She was a prisoner here, but a prisoner with a lot to gain. She wasn't concerned with how fearful the old man, Melchior, was of her. It was the other one that caught her interest.

"Artorius, was it? You claim that my malevolence would be used to achieve your goals. Tell me more." She stated simply, not even looking back behind her where the other man stood.

"Do not speak to the Shepherd in such a way, Malakhim. You may have your will intact, but that does not make you our equal." Said Melchior.

"Truly now?" she said, disappearing from view, only to reappear by the old man's side, his words ignored as she looked ahead towards the Shepherd. But he wasn't the only one there, someone else stood beside him. He could even be considered a child with an empty gaze as their eyes met.

Artorius was silent, as if her reaction was not what he expected. When they found her, the only thing that caught their attention was the formidable 'malevolence' she apparently radiated. Initially, she didn't even know what they meant and all she could do was listen to what they had to say. Through observation, she learned much about the nature of this place. And also what she was.

When Artorius spoke, all listened. There was Melchior, the old man. And a young knight under the service of the Shepherd. She heard the others mention him by his name, Oscar. A pious knight, with single-minded determination. And one who had some qualms about her very existence.

"Our goals are ever the same. To end the suffering of this world using any means necessary. This should be of no concern to you." He started.

"But…?" she continued to pry.

Artorius paused. It's almost as if she was demanding a confrontation, to know more than she should. Did no Malak ever think of attempting this? Or was she just that special in this regard? He said nothing, causing her to turn her head away.

"Has your spell finished yet, Melchior? It is taking an awfully long time to seal away my will for the time being." She said to the old man. "It is no Mind-Eater Curse, but it will have to do until I get more accustomed here."

"You are an odd little Malak," Artorius said, "We would give you a number, but what do you call yourself?"

"My name… ah, that is a good question." She said, closing her eyes. "I suppose I am known as Iza…no, wait, I'm misremembering. Sa…ya. Saya, yes that sounds right. I am… or was, Saya." She replied, her gaze back up towards Artorius.

"Very well then, Saya. By my authority, I shall grant you a purpose for our new world. You shall be bound to Oscar for now and your strength we shall use to capture your so-called brother. Perhaps he can be made to see our reason as well." Artorius said, drawing his sword and then laid it down on her shoulder.

Saya smirked, "And if he does not, well I assume you have a plan for that as well. I suspect he won't go quietly regardless."

"The report mentioned the intense malevolence he radiates. Hastening Innominat's awakening to his full power with your brother's cooperation would certainly be possible." Melchior said, holding his hand out to intensify the spell that should stifle Saya's will.

Saya nodded her head and then closed her eyes. For her will to remain dormant throughout this ordeal was a risk, yet the opportunity to observe was a reward in of itself. Until she grew acclimated to this place, then she shouldn't make any move in haste.

The spell finished and as she stayed there immobile, Artorius and Melchior stepped away. She was quick to turn towards Oscar, bound to him as was ordered.

"Is this wise, Lord Artorius?" Oscar said, "A Malak of Malevolence… does such a thing even exist?"

"This is why the purity of your soul and purpose is needed to make use of her. Any less and you risk being corrupted by her own Malevolence." Artorius replied. "Whether or not she's telling the truth is another matter entirely. But she is a Malak, and one like her who is willing to help us is a rare sight indeed."

"I shall look into her origins later on as well. If there are others like her and her so-called brother, then it would be wise to keep such beings close for our purpose." Melchior replied.

Oscar nodded his head, accepting their reasoning. "I assume then, that my mission is a simple search and capture?"

"We will let you know where your quarry is. Make haste, Oscar. Test your new Malak's abilities before your confrontation." Said Melchior, the younger knight acknowledging the request with a nod of his head and then took his leave. Saya hovered silently behind, her expression blank.

* * *

**The Van Eltia – Many Hours Later**

A fishing trip on the hunt for one of these Therions, weird enough but he wouldn't question it. "Now how did this fit again?" Ragna muttered to himself, glancing over to his left. He wasn't the only one having trouble with properly threading the line, and attaching the hook. He had done this before, a small lesson by Jubei that he may have not actually practiced that much. And why would he? There aren't that many good places to fish.

"How the hell…?" Ragna continued, annoyed at the knot that formed where the hook and thread met. Oh sure, it could be sufficient enough to just keep it connected, but it would likely break if any amount of force was applied on to it. He took a deep breath, and concentrated.

They had gone on this voyage following the direction of Laphicet's compass, but he didn't expect them to try and fish the target up. And it was Eizen's idea to do so, having given everyone fishing rods to try their hand, even if part of the reason was just to catch a meal.

"You don't go fishing much, do you?" he looked at Velvet, who seemed to be having some trouble of her own.

"It's just been a while. I used to go fishing with my brother sometimes."

Ragna turned his head. So Velvet too had some experience with these sort of things. He shrugged and turned back to his line. He let the hook dangle and then lowered it down to the water. No bites or nibbles, though perhaps that was for the best given how little he actually tried.

"Laphi!"

Velvet's raised voice caught his attention and he turned towards the commotion. Well, something was going on there. A little case of dealing with a replacement sibling from what he could tell. He had to stay out of this of course, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to listen in.

Something tugged on his line and before he could focus on it, a strong pull sent the whole rod falling into the ocean's depths.

"Uh…"

"You're not getting a new one." Eizen called out.

"What? Don't you have any spares?" Ragna answered.

"You lost a perfectly useable Fishing Rod. I'm not inclined to let you have another one until you can prove you can be trusted with it. Go share a rod with someone if you want." Eizen said.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." He sighed. Butterfingers, that was mostly due to his not paying attention though. Would just grabbing the fish from here without a line and hook work perhaps?

"Here," a voice sighed while he contemplated. Velvet had moved closer to hand him her own fishing rod and from the look of her face, she didn't seem to be in a good mood. Probably, it involved that recent conversation with that kid…

"Not that I want to pry but… you alright?" Ragna said as he took the fishing rod from her hands and dangled the line overboard.

She shook her head. "Just looking back on a lot of things. I'm not as focused as I should be."

"Right," Ragna said. From what he had briefly observed, there was a bit of nostalgia there alright. Even that witch Magilou mentioned some kind of comparison between people and fish hooks. That kid had the same name as Velvet's brother and it didn't take a genius to figure out that he wanted to be seen as someone else entirely. Living in the shadow of someone who had passed on, that must be rough.

So why was he here? He had pledged to help them in their quest despite the perils, a pledge that was all too easy to accept despite having known them only briefly. Was he himself using them as a replacement for what he once had?

"Oh, Ragna! You gotta get it a lot tighter than that. Here, lemme take a look at it." Benwick's voice snapped him out as the pirate took the fishing rod and started to modify it. Apparently, Velvet's hook wasn't attached well either so Ragna simply took a step back and let Benwick do his work.

"So even you can't do everything." Velvet said, forcing a smile to her face as she leaned back against the side-railing of the ship.

Ragna shrugged and adopted a similar stance, though his arms were crossed as the two observed the others. Eizen and Rokurou having a discussion about who could catch the best fish, Bienfu being used as bait by Magilou, Eleanor and Laphicet having a fairly casual conversation; all things considered, it was still mostly relaxing so he couldn't complain.

"Here you go!" Benwick said, handing the fishing rod to Ragna. "Now get out there and fish up a big one!"

"Thanks Benwick," he nodded at the pirate before turning his attention towards Velvet. "Well? You want first dibs?"

She shook her head. "You're the one who lost yours. See if you can regain your honor by fishing up the Therion."

"Tch, smartass." Ragna muttered, tossing the line overboard and waited.

Velvet swiftly punched him lightly on the shoulder though, but not enough to make him lose his grip on the rod. "Language. There are children here." She said.

"You're one to talk." Ragna jabbed back before settling on to focus on the sea ahead. It's all up to luck then to see if they catch anything worthwhile.

An hour must have passed before tensions rose. Laphicet had caught something earlier. But it was no fish or therion. Some kind of treasure box with horn-like accessories within. They must have come across some kind of trove because Eleanor, and Magilou soon fished up accessories just as odd as the last one.

"Not a single decent catch," Velvet sighed, taking the fishing rod from Ragna again.

He stretched his limbs for a moment, walking back to rest though he overheard Laphicet mention a rebuttal to Velvet's words. Kid's assertive, though he was surprised along with everyone else when Laphicet took to wearing those strange accessories. He watched from a distance, taking careful note of how Velvet and Laphicet acted. He shouldn't pry but from what he could observe, the kid wasn't too keen on Velvet treating him as his brother. Must be harsh to hear in Velvet's perspective, though he can respect the kid's guts for speaking his mind like that.

Velvet's fishing rod seemed to have caught something though and Ragna was quick to take hold while everyone was distracted.

"Think our luck is turning!" Ragna called out, keeping the rod steady with one hand. All he needed to do was slowly reel it in, right? And as quickly as everyone turned their attention to him, a sudden tug brought the catch soaring onto the center of the deck. It was…

"A pot?" Eleanor wondered, looking from it and then towards Ragna.

"Well, that's embarrassing." He said. He bent down to check it out, then sighed and turned back around. "Seemed empty too...ack!"

Something had reached for Ragna from within the pot, tentacles that wrapped around his throat and then pulled back, nearly making him stumble. With some effort, he held his ground and forcefully pulled away from those appendages. "The hell?!" he shouted.

More of those appendages appeared from the pot, and multiple creatures crawled out; shelled octopi that may have been making their home within it. He wasn't sure how he could have missed that?

It didn't take long to eliminate them, but the pot spewed forth more strange beasts… undead that threatened to swarm them if they weren't so easily dispatched.

And finally, the pot itself transformed into a daemon!

"I'm not even going to question this." Ragna called out midway through the battle. He raised his blade up to deflect one of the daemon-pot's tendrils.

"Whatever you guys do, make sure you don't smash it!" he heard Eizen call out. Advice that is likely to be ignored as the group made attempts to jab and strike it hard and fast. Despite Eizen's protests, the daemonic pot was being driven back and soon reverted back to its seemingly more natural state of immobility.

Simple enough, there was no need to bring out the Azure Grimoire in a fight like this and he retreated to the back of the group with his back to the wall. Nothing too important in terms of making progress, but a small smile was on his face. He can't deny that it wasn't enjoyable. Odd as this group was, he was enjoying the time spent with them so far.

"…isn't that right, Phi?" he heard Velvet tell the kid. Ah, so it seems they were patching things up a bit better now. Just a new nickname, but it seemed to bring a bit of joy to the young Malak's eyes as he observed the exchange.

"…You're you. You're Phi."

To have the burden of an existential crisis thrust on someone that young, living off an identity that isn't truly their own… It was something that even Ragna could relate as well. Again he recalled the words of someone telling him not to give up and not lose sight of who he is. A memory that made his heart droop just a little bit.

It wasn't all a waste though as Eizen picked something out from the defeated pot. Orichalcum, he calls it, an ore that Rokurou was delighted in seeing. Good for them, he observed and closed his eyes.

"Okay there tall, dark, and brooding. What's on your mind?" he heard Magilou say as the witch came up to him.

"Brooding? I'm just resting." He replied, not even bothering to open his eyes.

"Oh don't be like that. You need to be more active if you're going to perform for Magilou's Menagerie!"

"The… what now?" Ragna chuckled.

"Don't antagonize him, Magilou. I'm sure he has enough things to think about without added baggage from the menagerie." Velvet called out.

"I'm just saying, this is his decision. An initiation process, one would say." The witch replied.

"Do what you want?" Ragna answered, opening one eye to look back at Magilou.

"Don't blame us if you regret that decision." Velvet sighed.

* * *

**Author's Note: **

Can't seem to transfer this to the Crossover Section. So for the moment, this story stays here.


End file.
